


Keeping Word

by megangster



Category: OMORI (Video Game)
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Anxiety, Childhood Friends, Childhood Trauma, Depression, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Eye Trauma, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Forgiveness, Friends to Lovers, Getting Together, Grief/Mourning, Happy Ending, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Implied/Referenced Suicide, M/M, Nothing very graphic just the normal warnings for the game!, Post-Canon, Post-good ending, Spoilers, What happens after Sunny tells the group
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-14
Updated: 2021-02-01
Packaged: 2021-03-12 12:08:29
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 8,024
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28760070
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/megangster/pseuds/megangster
Summary: Sunny and Basil told their friends what happened that day when they were 12 years old.Now that they know, can they keep their word about staying together?
Relationships: Aubrey & Sunny (OMORI), Basil/Sunny (OMORI), Hero & Kel (OMORI), Hero & Sunny (OMORI), Hero/Mari (OMORI), Kel & Sunny (OMORI)
Comments: 68
Kudos: 585





	1. One

**Author's Note:**

> Hi! This is my first fic for the OMORI fandom :) I'm hoping that it will be multiple chapters and go through the group's relationship after the Good Ending of the game!

Sunny leaned back in his seat, closing his eyes for a moment while he felt the vinyl car seat with the pads of his fingers. He concentrated on the smooth feelings, remembering how to calm down and trying to take his mind off the events of the last few days. It had only been four days since he had woken up in a hospital bed and felt the fluorescent lighting sting his already painful eyeball. Since then, he had been piecing together memories that only seemed to resurface that morning. 

The doctor had informed his concerned mother that he was lucky there was no infection in his eye. The new house was ready and waiting for the two of them, and his eye would continue to be monitored at a hospital closer by. His last few nights in Faraway Town weren’t spent in his childhood home, in his childhood bedroom. They were spent in the infirmary. Maybe it was better that way. 

Sunny’s mind was brought back to that afternoon despite his attempts to focus on anything else. Although a weight had been lifted off his shoulders when he told Aubrey, Kel, and Hero his secret, it wasn’t enough to make those four years of accumulating pain magically disappear. He knew this was just the beginning, and although his three friends had hugged him in that moment, he knew he and Basil were far from forgiven. He hoped he could even still call these people his friends. 

After the floods of confessions finished and Sunny was left barely stringing along a steady breath, it was Aubrey that moved in first to hug him. He sobbed-- nearly screamed-- into her shoulder as she held him. He felt her hands tremble as they brushed through the hair on the back of his head, and she too let out a torrent of sobs. Kel joined, wrapping his arms around both Sunny’s and Aubrey’s shoulders and sighed. He was too shocked, too hurt for tears even. It was Hero who moved last, but his feet led him to the door instead. 

Sunny’s ringing ears barely registered the sound of the metal door slamming, but Aubrey was knocked out of her daze and she finally spoke. 

“I’m so sorry I wasn’t there for you,” she said, her voice hiccupping. She seemed to think about her next choice of words before dissolving into fresh tears instead. She looked around and remembered that Basil couldn’t get out of bed. She let go of Sunny for a moment and moved to Basil’s side, resolving to hold his hand rather than risk hurting his already bruised body further. 

“I could have been in your guys’ place right now. Basil could have drowned when I pushed him,” she stated, not bothering to brush away the tears pooling in her eyes. “I could have really fucked up if Hero wasn’t there. I could have killed both Basil and Sunny,” she said desperately, looking towards Kel and almost begging for his understanding. 

“When you were yelling at me, it felt like my throat was closing up. I wanted to tell you it was an accident but you were so mad at me and I was... I couldn’t believe that my hands pushed him,” Aubrey cried. “You must have been so scared.” 

Kel took a step back as the situation hit him in full. He wanted to hate them, these people who took Mari away and ruined everything. But when Aubrey put it that way… he knew that would be too cruel. “You guys were just kids…” he drifted off, his eyes cast downwards at his orange basketball sneakers. He closed his eyes and willed the tears to stop. “We all were. Mari too.” 

Basil’s head was spinning and he stared at the ceiling as he took in the fact that his life was over. They knew what he had done. Could they possibly forgive him? He only did it to protect Sunny, so it couldn’t be bad right? Protecting the person you love is a good thing to do, isn’t it? His thoughts twisted in on themselves as he fully realized what he did. The time for hiding away, closing himself in the bathroom and praying that the sound of his vomit splashing against the porcelain toilet wasn’t loud enough for everyone to hear, shutting his eyes every time he got near a mirror, it was all over. He wanted to be free. He wanted to be happy, but he wasn’t sure he deserved it. At least, if Sunny could be happy… it would be enough. This all would have been worth it. 

He was knocked out of his thoughts by the feeling of Kel’s voice, unusually soft, apologizing to him directly. 

“Basil… I know you’re scared but… we’re not gonna tell anyone else about this. I just thought you should know that, at least.” Kel said, although he seemed to be holding on to more unfinished words. He contemplated for a moment, deciding whether or not he really meant the next thing that came out of his mouth. “I don’t think I can ever fully accept what you two have done… but I’ll try to be there for you. It’s what I should do.” 

Aubrey agreed inaudibly, finally sitting down and resolving herself to the weight that had been shifted off of Sunny and Basil’s shoulders and onto her’s and Kel’s. “We… can’t leave each other. It would make everything get… fucked up again. We have to stay with each other.” 

Sunny wiped his leaking eye, staining his hands with a translucent pinkish liquid. He barely even noticed the pain, and with an inkling of forgiveness a real possibility for the first time, both he and Basil closed their eyes. 

Hero was still trying to catch his labored breath when Kel placed a hand on his shoulder. He hadn’t even heard him approaching as he stood on the roof of the hospital, the wind blowing in his ears and his breath catching in his throat. Hero jumped a bit and turned around before quickly and roughly wiping the tears off his cheeks. 

“You don’t have to act like you have it all together right now, dude,” Kel said sympathetically. He watched as his brother’s eyebrows twitched and scrunched together as he let out a sob, and Kel brought him into a hug. Somehow, seeing his brother like this was the most upsetting thing he had seen so far that day. Kel thought, if his own heart was breaking, he couldn’t imagine how Hero was feeling right now. 

“I thought I was gonna marry her, Kel. Like, all my plans for the future were with her. So when she died, I didn’t even know what to do. I still don’t know what I’m doing,” Hero said softly. Kel sighed and nodded, keeping an arm around Hero’s shoulders. 

“How could they do that to her?” He all but yelled. “I know,” Kel attempted to comfort. 

“You don’t, though. No one knows how I feel right now. No one loved her as much as I did,” Hero cried. Kel knew that wasn’t fair, but how could he argue? Seeing his brother lower his brows at the comment, Hero stepped back. “I… know that’s not true. But it hurts so much.”

“And hearing all this just makes it hurt worse, right?” Kel concluded. He might not know exactly how Hero is feeling, he thought, but he’s sure he has a pretty good idea. He still felt like he could barely breathe.

The two stood there, letting themselves cry as the cold wind brushed goosebumps onto their skin. 

“It was an accident though… wasn’t it?” Hero finally broke the silence. 

“Yeah. It could have happened to any of us.” 

Hero stood and contemplated it for a moment. Although he was barely holding back from running into Basil’s hospital room and breaking both their noses, he knew that Kel was right. He didn’t want to hurt Aubrey when she pushed Basil into the lake. He just felt lucky that nothing worse happened. 

He also knew how much Mari loved Sunny. She absolutely adored him. And he knew that Sunny adored her right back. There is no way that Sunny would have ever hurt her on purpose, and he saw how much trauma and guilt he felt as he cried and told them what had happened that day when they were 12. Before all of this had happened, Hero loved Sunny too. Not just because he was Mari’s brother, but also just because of who he was. He still loved Sunny. Basil, too. 

Mari wouldn’t be mad at Sunny for what he did. She would want him to forgive himself and continue on to a happy life. That was just the way she was. If he wanted to be someone worthy of Mari, shouldn’t he do the same thing? He had said it himself just the night before (even though that already felt like weeks ago). He told his friends that last time, they had all made the mistake of leaving each other when they needed each other the most. This time, they were going to stay together. No matter what. 

As he thought about it, he realized he still felt that way. Hero knew he could never fully forgive Sunny and Basil for what they did, but he had to be there for them now. They had been holding in this trauma for four years, and they needed him to be there now. And frankly, he needed them too. 

He nodded his head in the direction of the door, and Kel nodded back in response. The two left the roof and made their way back to their friends. They had to be there for each other. 

Sunny opened his eyes and checked his watch. Another hour to go until they arrived at his new home. He took in a breath, pulling his cell phone out of his packed bag and checking the notification that had come up on his lock screen. A text from a number that hadn’t been put into his contacts read: 

“This is Basil! Have a safe trip, and let me know once you get to your new house! :)”

Sunny couldn’t help but feel the corners of his mouth turn up slightly as he turned off the screen of his phone again. That was the first text he had gotten from a friend in… years, probably. He was shocked with himself that he actually was excited to reply to this message. 

Aubrey, Kel, and Hero had all written down their phone numbers on small slips of paper from the notepad on Basil’s nightstand. He had promised them that he’d let them know when he arrived. Before leaving, Aubrey chirped in and reminded Sunny that he had promised to visit soon. He nodded his head, returning the hugs that Kel and Aubrey gave him before leaving his hospital room. Hero was left standing, sighing and pushing himself to move towards Sunny and hug him as well. He had told them all that they will stick together, and now it was his turn to prove that. 

Once the three had left, Sunny made one last stop before being checked out of the hospital by his mother. Knocking on the heavy door, a soft voice told him he could come in. 

He stood at the foot of Basil’s bed, taking in all the bandaging and bruising along his pale face. He was sure that Basil was doing the same for him, obviously wincing at the sight of the injuries Basil himself had caused. Sunny felt the familiar sting in his nose as he tried to hold back a fresh wave of tears, but at the sight of Basil’s identical struggle he stopped fighting. The two smiled at each other as the warm tears left tracks on their cheeks, and for the first time Sunny felt a little bit better. He saw the expression in Basil’s face change as well, for once a real smile showing in the crinkle of his nose. 

With slight embarrassment, Basil held Sunny’s hand and told him that he hoped they could stay in touch. Sunny nodded easily, and told him he’d call tonight when he got to his new house. He wrote his own number on the paper beside the bed. Basil tried to hide the feeling of his heart picking up pace again, and nodded back at Sunny. 

Sunny sighed and opened his phone again, typing in a colon and parentheses before sending and closing his eyes.


	2. Two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After Sunny and his mother have their first dinner at their new home, Sunny feels the urge to call Basil.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's the next chapter! I hope you like it :)

Sunny’s fingers clicked send as soon as his mother turned the corner and pulled into the short driveway of their new home. Not waiting to inform Basil that they had arrived, Sunny opened the door and stretched his legs. The drive was about two hours north of his old hometownー not quite far enough for Sunny to notice any significant change in the scenery around him. 

Like in Faraway Town, their new house was on a fairly typical suburban street. Notably, however, most of the houses were ranch-style. This was his first time seeing the new house, but he was sure that his mother had picked one without a second floor for a reason. He grabbed a large box from the trunk of the sedan as his mother fished out the keys and opened the front door. 

“You can just put the boxes here in the foyer, honey,” Sunny’s mother called out as she made her way to the bathroom. He cracked his knuckles against one another, alleviating the stiffness that settled after years of inactivity. Taking in the somewhat damp smell of his house, he went to retrieve some more boxes. He felt the phone in his pocket buzz and, simultaneously, a spike of nervousness hit his stomach. For the first time in a while though, it was more excitement than anxiety. He grabbed the box, buckling slightly under its weight, and tried to be careful of the slight lip of the front door. 

As he set the box down next to the first, he felt another vibration from his pocket. Then a third. Opening his phone, he saw that Basil had sent him two messages. The first simply stated, “Good! ^^”. Sunny smiled slightly, imagining Basil typing out an emoticon like that. The next one, “Do you maybe want to talk on the phone tonight?”, followed by “only if you have time!!”. Sunny’s smile stayed as he typed his simple responseー “Okay”. 

Sunny and his mother retrieved the remainder of the boxes from the car, settling to leave them where they were and unpack them the following day. She sighed before looking at Sunny.

“Hey, Sunny? Mommy’s a bit tired. Is it okay if we just order a pizza for dinner?”

He nodded curtly in response. 

“Okay, honey.” She smiled, turning to walk to her bedroom and closing the door behind her. Sunny was left to find his own bedroom. This was not a difficult task, considering how much smaller this house was than the one he had grown up in. It made sense, since their family had two less people in it now. 

The room was small and simple. It was left fully furnished, but in this room that meant just the bed, a nightstand, a dresser, a wooden desk with a matching chair, and a mirror. Sunny only realized how exhausted he was when he laid down on the bed and felt his eyes closing. He hadn’t had much time to consider how much his life had changed in barely a week. For four years, his schedule consisted of not much more than laying in bed. He only really got up to eat or go to the bathroom. There were days where he didn’t use his voice at all, and sometimes it was more than one day. There were weeks where the only person he saw was his mother, who peeked her head into his room every so often just to make sure there wasn’t a corpse decaying in the bed where her son should be. 

Last week was the first time he had seen any friends in four years. When he opened the door to Kel and had to answer his impassioned greetings, his voice cracked. It had been that long since he had talked. And now, having a new obligation to keep in contact with his friends was simultaneously exciting and exhausting. Still, thinking of going back to more isolation was much more terrifying than it was tiring, so he pushed himself to add Kel’s, Aubrey’s, and Hero’s number into his phone and text them that he had gotten there safely. He smiled at their quick replies. He had people who cared about him again. Well, he figured they probably hadn’t stopped caring. They had just stopped showing it. It was his own fault, but he hoped the thought was true since he knew he hadn’t stopped caring for them.

Sunny’s mother had ordered a pizza and insisted they eat at their new dinner table together. She was hoping his habit of bringing food up to his room and eating it alone would end. In fact, she hoped all those strange habits could be over now that they were given the option of a new start. 

“Sweetheart,” his mother broke the silence as she wiped the grease off her fingers with a napkin. “How do you like your new room?”

Sunny looked up at her and nodded slightly, but could see that she was hoping for more. He felt the tension, and the hope his mother had for their relationship as they spoke to each other. “It’s nice,” he stated with some difficulty. 

Sunny’s mother had never grown accustomed to the long periods of silence that came with any interaction with her son. Even after four years, she still missed the animated conversations that Mari could give. Those had been filled with easy smiles, a slight lilt in her voice and a laugh as she talked about her day. It pushed Sunny to smile more as well, even if he didn’t say much. When that was the tone of the conversation at the dinner table, it had been so much easier. 

She had begun using her own voice to fill that hole. It was better than listening to nothing. 

“I was thinking, honey,” she began. “How about we try to get a schedule going for you, hm? I know it won’t happen all at once, but I think it would be so nice for you to try, maybe, going back to school? You should go and meet some new friends here so you’re not shut in your room all day. What do you think?” 

Sunny almost laughed at the thought that he could make friends so easily at a new school. His stomach churned at the thought of attending a new school. For the first time in years, he had wished that he could have stayed with his friends in Faraway Town. 

“I’m just… happy that you made up with your old friends. I really want that to keep going,” she explained. Sunny didn’t reply as he looked down at the table and picked at the cuticles of his nails. She hadn’t brought up the “accident,” as she thought of it, that had landed both him and Basil in the hospital. She was just happy he was out of his room. 

She sighed, and willed a smile onto her face as Sunny brought his dish to the sink. 

“Take your time and think about it, honey. I’m going to my room. Have a good night.” 

That night, it was Sunny who called Basil first. 

Basil picked up only after a few rings, clearly surprised that Sunny had reached out first by the tone of his voice. Clearly surprised, but happy as well. 

“H-hey Sunny! Is… everything okay?” Basil said cautiously. 

Sunny waited a moment, wondering what Basil meant by this. He assumed that, like himself, Basil was just a bit nervous. They hadn’t been able to sit down and talk in years, and the last time Basil had seen Sunny was leaving the hospital with bandages covering wounds he had made. 

“You said I could call, right?” Sunny said quietly, his tone even as always. 

“Oh, of course! I guess I was just surprised that you called first, haha,” Basil explained. “B-but I’m really happy you did!” 

At the sound of Sunny’s small chuckle on the other end, Basil felt his heart pick up. He hadn’t heard Sunny laugh in such a long time. 

“So how’s your house? What does it look like?” Basil changed the subject. Sunny briefly told him about the sparse contents of his room, and about how the street almost looked like the ones in Faraway Town. 

“I guess… it’s nice that it’s not too much of a change maybe?” Basil tried to keep the tone light. Sunny didn’t answer, and the silence hung heavily between the two of them. 

“My mom wants me to go back to school,” Sunny stated suddenly, under his breath. 

“O-oh…” was all Basil could think to say. 

“I almost can’t remember what school is like anymore.” 

“Um… it's okay. I don’t think it’s changed much since you were going. Just got a bit harder I guess, haha,” Basil concluded awkwardly. 

“You didn’t stay friends with Aubrey and Kel...” 

“...No, not really. It’s my fault, though. I wanted to be alone.”

“Really?” Sunny asked plainly. 

“I guess… I’m not really sure what I wanted,” Basil paused, and thought for a moment. “I wanted things to be like how they were before… but I knew it wasn’t possible. And I was scared of talking with Aubrey and Kel… and you, haha. ” 

Sunny thought about how much of Basil’s life he didn’t know about anymore. He guessed that Basil thought the same, but there wasn’t much of a life for Sunny to tell him about. Sunny swallowed, and asked Basil if had made any other friends in school. 

“Um, not really. Especially after Aubrey and her friends startedー… I was mostly by myself.” Worried that he may have made the conversation uncomfortable, he rushed to explain “It’s okay though! It wasn’t so bad…I’m happy that we can even talk now. And… same with you. I guess it can’t really go back to normal though, huh.”

Sunny hummed in response. 

“But… I’m happy! Talking with you right now kinda feels like how it did before. Even though I always talk about myself, don’t I,” Basil laughed slightly. “I always burdened you with my problems, and I’m doing the same thing now… I’m sorry.” 

Sunny’s brows furrowed. “I like listening to you talk, though.” 

Basil didn’t want to let himself be happy, but he felt the tips of his ears burning at the compliment. “Oh…” was the only thing he could think to say. 

The two sat in silence again, and Basil could hear Sunny’s soft breaths in the phone. 

Basil was about to say something when Sunny’s voice came through the receiver. “You helped me a lot. I want to help you, too.” 

Basil instantly protested. “W-what? I didn’t help you! I just made everything more difficult for you…”

“That’s not true,” was all Sunny had to say in order for the subject to be dropped. 

They talked for a while longer as Basil filled Sunny in on some of the happenings of this past school year. He told Sunny about the classes he was taking, and about joining the Gardening Club. He confessed that he had wanted to talk to his other club members (as few as there were), but was too nervous. He raved about some of the new flowers he was tending to, and which bloomed at this time of year. 

“You should come and see them soon…” Basil suggested quietly, hoping that Sunny wasn’t put off by the invitation. 

“I will,” Sunny said. Even though he knew Basil couldn’t see, he was smiling slightly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed this chapter :) As always, kudos and comments are greatly appreciated!
> 
> I wanted to thank @towardthesun (@sunnysviolin on tumblr) for talking with me about this game, beta reading this fic, and being really great in general! Check out their OMORI fic it's incredible


	3. Three

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sunny tells his mom that he's planning to visit Faraway Town this weekend.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you guys enjoy this chapter :)

Sunny’s phone calls to Basil became somewhat of a nightly routine. 

The fact that he had developed even a semblance of a routine was new to him, and to his mother as well. She had begun to take notice of the sound of running water in the bathroom at, what she considered, was a relatively normal hourー 11 AM. Sunny brushing his teeth. This was a welcomed sound, what with Sunny’s four year history of rising no earlier than 3 PM. He started coming down for meals at least twice a week, and hearing him speaking on the phone with someone before bed was the cherry on top. 

She told him so the next morning. It seemed like today would be a good day. Sunny had managed to wake up before noon and sat across from her at the kitchen table for a late breakfast. She couldn’t hold back a smile as she thought about Sunny reintegrating himself into some sort of a normal life, with friends who he enjoyed speaking to and plans for the upcoming day. A therapist she had spoken to some years ago now told her to be easy on the boy, and to support even the smallest steps. 

“I heard you talking on the phone with someone last night, sweety,” His mom began, her eyebrows raised in an encouraging grin. Sunny looked up from his bowl of cereal, and, meeting his mom’s gaze, looked back down. She continued, moving past the instant exhaustion that seemed to plague her the moment she began a conversation with her son. 

“I’m so glad that you’ve made up with your friends! Who were you speaking to, Kel?” She tried pushing the discussion further, craving any sort of pleasant exchange with her child.

“Basil,” Sunny said quietly, lifting another spoonful of Blueberry Cheerios to his mouth. His mother pursed her lips at the sound of Basil’s name, just as Sunny knew she would. 

They had moved past his mom’s concerned accusations about Sunny’s injury by saying it was an “accident.” The two had been play-fighting, they had tripped and fallen, and the gardening shears wound up in his eye. How it also resulted in Basil’s broken nose, black eye, and fractured rib, his mother did not bother to find out. All she knew was that this boy was not a good influence on her Sunny. Sighing away her annoyance, she chose not to question him further. 

The two sat in silence for some time, and his mother eyed Sunny wearily as he stayed in his seat despite his bowl now being empty. She watched as the boy shifted awkwardly, biting at the dry skin on his lip and then running his tongue over the bead of salty blood that seeped up. He glanced up at her and their eyes met, and once again he lowered them. He had always had trouble keeping eye contact, at least with her. 

“Is there something you wanna say, honey?” She asked gently and noticed his eyebrow twitch momentarily. 

“Yeah,” He began, scrunching his brows as if thinking of the right way to tell her. “I want to visit my friends soon, back in Faraway. Would… that be okay?”

Her grip on her coffee cup tightened at the mention of their old town’s name, and so soon after they had leftー she thoughtー forever. She was happy Sunny wanted to stay in touch with his old friends; any socialization for him was something she was grateful for. But to plan on going back? To her, the town was a place of hurt and isolation. It was where her family fell apart. Where Mari died. She resented the thought that her son would want to return to that place.

“Well… I didn’t really have plans to be driving you back anytime soon,” She scoffed. It was her turn to look away now. She felt the bitter feelings she had for her son’s question growing, spreading to encompass him fully. 

“I canー,” Sunny paused to take in a breath, “I can take the train, I think.” 

She considered him for a moment, and thought about the isolation he subjected himself to for four years. She knew the boy needed this, and she needed it for him, too. But why now? Why, after everything she had done to get away from that place? And why Basil? The thought of the awkward boy sent chills down her spine. Why not Kel and Hero? 

Why couldn’t he be more like Mari?

She agreed, albeit reluctantly, and asked when he was planning on going. He told her he wanted to spend this weekend there, and after seeing she had nothing else to say, he stood from the table and closed himself in his room again. 

Sunny shut the door behind him and fell into his bed, wrapping himself in the covers before grabbing his phone off the nightstand. He opened his messages with Basil and slowly typed, “My mom said I can come this weekend. I’ll take the train.” 

It wasn’t a moment later before Sunny’s phone buzzed. “Yay! :D”. 

Sunny smiled slightly, putting his phone back and pulling out his laptop in its place. 

He and his mother had come to somewhat of a compromise. Rather, she had given him some suggestions and he agreed to the easiest one. He would start online school once the summer was over. He promised her to look into signing up, and subsequently take a placement test. Four years was a long time to be out of school, and he wondered if the rare visits with the tutor his mom hired would be any help now. 

That night, Sunny called Basil first as usual. He had told Basil that he could call anytime, but Basil was always concerned of catching Sunny at a bad time and annoying him somehow. Sunny nearly laughed at this, telling Basil that he did next to nothing all day. Basil wouldn’t change his mind. 

Basil had begun answering Sunny’s calls with more confidence. Rather than a reproachful “Oh, h-hey Sunny,” Basil’s soft voice greeted Sunny comfortably. Sunny heard the boy’s smile through the phone, and was glad that it replaced the grimace from before. 

“Kel and Aubrey asked me if I wanted to get pizza with them after school today…” Basil began before trailing off. Sunny could barely hold back a smile at this, knowing that his friends were making an effort to bring Basil into their circle again. Even the fact that Kel and Aubrey were on good enough terms to arrange plans was news. 

“How did it go?” Sunny asked gently, hoping that he would be next in this reintegration method. He played with the threads of his t-shirt as Basil sighed, beginning to tell about his day. 

“W-well, I was really happy that they asked! But I was also, um, pretty nervous I guess. They asked me during one of our classes in the morning, and my stomach hurt the whole day waiting, haha.” Basil took another breath before continuing. “It was just the three of us, so it was a little less intimidating talking with them. Usually they’re with their other friends. But, it was still pretty awkward… I think... “ 

“What did you guys talk about?” Sunny asked. 

“Um, just normal stuff. Like, we talked about class. Kel told me about his friends on the basketball team. Andー” Basil paused to laugh quietly, “Aubrey told me a pretty funny story about Mikhael. She’ll probably tell you when you come this weekend.” 

“They know I’m coming?” 

“Oh, y-yeah. I mentioned it… is that okay?” Basil asked uncomfortably, clearly concerned about putting Sunny out. 

“It’s fine. What… did they say?” Sunny hoped that they would be happy to see him, but knew that there was still a lot of work to be done before their relationship could go back to normal. Well, back to normal would probably never happen. It would take time for them to be friends again, Sunny guessed. 

“I think… they sorta didn’t know what to say at first. But then Kel seemed happy, and said that all of us should hang out together. And Aubrey agreed. So… I think they’re trying. With both of us.” Basil concluded, hoping that Sunny wouldn’t be upset. 

“That’s fair. I think so, too,” Sunny agreed. “Do you think you’ll hang out with Kel and Aubrey again soon?” 

“I guess I’m not sure. I was happy spending time with them, but… I probably seemed pretty uncomfortable to them. As always, haha.” 

“This was your first time hanging out with them since… I moved. Right?” Sunny paused. “I think it’ll take a while until it’s comfortable.” 

“You’re right…” Basil trailed off. 

Sunny paused for a moment, thinking of what to say as Basil waited for his response. Basil noticed that, even when there was a moment of silence, he always felt comfortable with Sunny. 

Some days had passed, and his mother had decided against talking Sunny out of visiting Faraway Town. She wanted to encourage any form of excitement or motivation in Sunny and, frankly, she had grown tired. 

She stood in his doorway for a brief moment as he packed his backpackー the same one she had seen him unpack just some time prior. 

Sunny tried to busy his thoughts with a checklist of things to bring. He would only be there for the weekend and knew that he wouldn’t need much, but thinking about that was easier than thinking about seeing Aubrey, Kel, and Hero again for the first time after moving. With Basil, he knew that he could be nearly completely comfortable. There was little Basil didn’t know about him. They had progressed into the sort of ease that only comes with seeing each other in their darkest moment. Although what they had done was no longer a secret within their group, they knew that no one could truly understand but them. 

Sunny wasn’t sure if it was a good thing or not, though. 

Sunny situated himself on the train, checking twice to make sure he was traveling in the right direction and recounting the amount of stops he had until he arrived at Faraway Station. Cracking his knuckles to alleviate some of his nerves, he checked his phone for Basil’s message. 

He confirmed with the boy that he was on the train, and told him that he should be arriving at the station in about two and a half hours. 

“I’m excited!” Basil replied, and Sunny’s eyes glanced at the exchange several times. 

“I’m nervous,” he wrote. 

“It’ll be okay. I’m here to protect you now!” Basil sent quickly, and Sunny let out a real laugh for the first time in a while. He remembered how Basil had always referred to him as the baby of the group, and told Sunny that he was there to defend him. When he thought about it, Sunny supposed that Basil had fulfilled that role, at least somewhat. He was grateful. 

“Thank you,” he replied. He turned off his phone, thinking about how there was someone in the world who wanted to care for him, and how nice that felt. Closing his eyes, he hoped he wouldn’t miss his stop.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you liked it :) As always, kudos and comments are greatly appreciated!
> 
> As always, thank you to @towardthesun (@sunnysviolin on tumblr) for beta reading! Check out their OMORI fics, they're incredible!


	4. Four

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Basil is so happy to finally have Sunny over to visit, but is worried that he'll ruin their short time together when his anxieties come creeping back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's the next chapter! I hope you like it!!

This was the first time that Sunny had been to the train station in Faraway Town. It was supposed to be where he and his family would pick Mari up on her short breaks from college, when driving the several hours north was a bit too out of the way. Now he was the one being picked up from there, replacing what should have been Mari’s perfect college experience with something much more uncomfortable.

Sunny looked around awkwardly, shifting the straps of his backpack that were weighing on his shoulders. He wasn’t exactly sure where he had agreed to meet Basil and his caretaker Polly, who was kind enough to offer to drive them back into town. He hoped that one of them knew their way around better than he did, and would simply spot him and grab his attention. 

He lucked out, as he heard the soft voice that had come through his phone speakers each night call out his name. Basil’s ash blonde hair came into Sunny’s vision, and the boy ran towards him, leaving Polly walking a few paces behind him. 

Sunny could tell that Basil hesitated for a moment. It wasn’t until Sunny raised his arms that Basil gathered his okay and launched in to hug him. Sunny supposed it was the stress leading up to his stay at Faraway Hospital that had made him discount just how much taller than Basil he had grown. That, and the fact that Basil spent most of his time in bed while they were there. Sunny was a little less than a head taller than him now.

Basil shifted awkwardly out of Sunny’s embrace, laughing to himself slightly before Polly encouraged them to get going. It was just about dinner time, and she still had to cook. 

The first thing that Sunny noticed when he stepped into Basil’s house was that the walker that had been propped against the wall near the shoe rack was gone. Basil’s grandmother’s old loafers were gone as well. Knowing the woman had been bedridden, he had figured that the shoes and walker hadn’t gotten much use by that point. Now they never would. 

Sunny had found out that Basil’s grandmother had passed away only after he had left his old hometown. She had died in the hospital with Basil holding her hand and the boy’s parents nowhere to be found. Basil had only mentioned it to him in passing one night while they were on the phone, and quickly changed the subject to something about his Begonia plant that had a couple new flowers coming in. Sunny had decided not to push him further. 

Basil hadn’t mentioned this part to Sunny, but if anything positive had come from his grandmother’s passing, it was the relationship that had grown between Basil and Polly. Polly had told Sunny to make himself comfortable on the couch in the living room, and he watched as Basil crept up to Polly’s side to help her cook. 

Basil pulled an apron off a rack near the kitchenー yellow with some faded strawberries on the front. He tied it around his waist and leaned over the counter to wash his hands, eyeing the girl next to him who had already begun to fill a pot with water to boil pasta. Basil wordlessly began cutting cherry tomatoes next to her, a rhythm seemingly forming between the two. 

Sunny occupied himself first with the pictures Basil had hung up on the wall, and then with a book on plant care he selected at random from the shelf next to the couch. Flipping through, he noticed the dog-eared pages and the annotations his friend had added. He wondered if every plant book on that shelf was as well-loved as this one. Knowing Basil, they likely were.

Polly’s pleasant voice called out to Sunny after some time, telling him that dinner was ready and to go sit down. Basil must have noticed Sunny’s urge to offer to set the table, but interrupted him with a smile. He set down three plates, three forks, and three cups of water. He gestured for Sunny to sit, and made his way to sit across the table. 

Polly joined the two boys, smoothing down her skirt and smiling up at the guest. 

“I’m so happy you’ve come to visit, Sunny,” she began, spooning some of the pasta onto her plate once the boys had filled their own. 

“Thank you for having me,” Sunny said softly, taking a bite of the food and smiling at her to reassure her of the taste. She seemed relieved that her cooking was okay, and continued with her questions. She asked him to describe his new house, his new town. She asked how his mother was doing. She asked if he was planning on returning to school. She didn’t ask him about the eyepatch he was wearing. 

Basil remained quiet through most of Polly’s questioning, only smiling or laughing slightly at some of Sunny’s responses. Sunny noticed that the boy watched him subtly, observing as Sunny placed a small piece of carrot that Basil had cut up into his mouth and chewed. 

“Everything’s delicious,” Sunny made sure to reiterate, and Basil seemed happy with this response. 

The conversation continued as Sunny helped bring the plates up to the sink, offering to wipe down the table but again being encouraged to relax and unpack by Polly. Sunny found the weight that had accumulated on his shoulders through his dinners with his mother starting to lift. Surprisingly, speaking with these two was much less constraining.

Basil rolled up his sleeves to do the dishes himself, but was nudged by Polly to follow Sunny into his bedroom. 

“I’m looking forward to seeing your plants,” Sunny began as Basil joined him to walk through the hallway. At this, Basil beamed and turned to look at the taller boy. 

“I’ve been so excited for you to see them! The Gardenias are blooming and they smell so nice, and my Cyclamens seem to be going to sleep now that it’s the summer. I was surprised that my African Violets are doing well too!” Basil began explaining excitedly, opening his door to show off the collection he was so proud of. 

Sunny was overcome with the sweet smell of blossomed flowers as soon as he entered the room, feeling a smile tugging at his lips as he finally understood the hard work Basil had put into cultivating these plants. As soon as he had turned to tell Basil how beautiful everything looked, Basil’s face dropped. 

Before Sunny had the chance to ask the boy if he was alright, Basil rushed to tend to the plant that was hidden in the shaded corner of his room. To Sunny’s unknowing eyes, the leafy plant looked pretty and fit the room perfectly. Basil, however, had quietly gasped and rushed out of the room at the sight. 

Sunny waited for Basil to come back, taking a closer look at what had made Basil so upset. Some of the branches of this plant had browned, and a few leaves peppered the light wooden floors. 

He kneeled down to take a closer look, gently touching one of the branches and inspecting it from another angle. The rest of the plant seemed just fine. 

Sunny was about to start picking up the leaves off the floor when Basil’s door softly opened and closed behind him. Sunny moved out of the way of the plant as Basil returned with a full watering can. From his kneeling position, Sunny looked up at Basil’s face, scrunched in concentration. His eyes were lined with red, as if he had been rubbing at them. His cheeks were also reddening. Sunny balanced himself on the floor and stood up to look at his friend properly. 

“I… guess I somehow forgot to water them... haha,” Basil started and he opened his eyes wider as if attempting to stop the tears that were forming from flowing down his cheeks.

Sunny wanted to reassure Basil, but wondered what he could possibly say as a complete plant amateur. He felt that Basil’s tears were somehow displaced, though. Basil was an expert in plant care. He would know that he was still able to save the plant. It was something else. 

Sunny took the heavy watering can from Basil’s hands and set it down on the nightstand next to the bed. Basil continued looking at the leaves of his Maidenhair Fern, searching for a way that he could have mistaken the plant’s care. Sunny placed a light hand on Basil’s shoulder, and the boy seemed to refocus on where he was. 

He turned his head slowly and met Sunny’s eyes. Basil looked at him and then looked back to his plant, willing the tears to go away so he could enjoy the short time they had together. He was ruining it. 

“What's wrong,” Sunny finally whispered, more of a statement than a question. Basil swallowed thickly, lifting his eyes to the ceiling as the tears stung his eyes and warmly made their way down one side of his face. He bit his cheek, internally begging himself to calm down. He thought he had gotten past this. 

Sunny moved his hand from Basil’s shoulder to the top of his head, smoothing down his hair the same way Mari used to when she comforted him. Basil met Sunny’s eyeline once more and scrunched his brows, letting his tears fall without constraint. Basil buried his face in Sunny’s chest, letting out a sob as the taller boy continued to pet his blonde hair. 

“What’s wrong,” Sunny asked again, hoping for an answer this time. He thought he might know, but wanted Basil to tell him himself. 

“I’m... a bad person,” Basil began, his words coming out more as whimpers.

“No you’re not,” Sunny replied, knowing that Basil wouldn’t be able to believe his simple words. 

“I… I can’t take care of anything. All I do is h-hurt and kill them,” Basil cried into Sunny’s shirt. Sunny sighed, wrapping his other arm more tightly around Basil’s thin shoulders. 

“I can’t be trusted with anything… I must be a bad person, right Sunny?” 

“No,” Sunny said firmly, and believed it. 

“How could you say that? If anyone should know what kind of person I am inside, it’s you! I ruined everything for you, and that’s why you left me. And... I deserved it,” Basil wailed, gripping at the thin fabric tightly with closed fists as if to reassure himself that Sunny was really there. “That’s why everyone hates me...” 

Sunny felt a wave of nausea creep up in his throat. “I’m sorry, Basil,” was all he could get out before he felt his voice resign. Basil continued to hiccup. 

“It was my fault, not yours. You’re a good person. You… did what you did to try and help me. And you take care of these plants because you love them. Plants can die at any time. You didn’t kill it, and you’re not a bad person.” Sunny took another deep breath in, collecting his thoughts. “The fact that you’re so worried about these things makes you a good person.” 

Basil remained with his face pressed into Sunny’s shirt for a moment longer as Sunny searched for something more he could say. He knew that nothing he could think of would mend how much the two had hurt each other over the last four years. But Sunny begrudgingly supposed he was glad they could talk about it now, for the first time. 

“I promise I won’t leave you alone anymore, Basil. I don’t hate you. I care about you. And I’m so sorry that I hurt you.”

Sunny sat on Basil’s bed as the other boy went to wash up and change into his pajamas. He noticed the text from his mom he had received a few hours prior. “Hi Sunny! Mommy just wanted to check in and see if you got there okay. Be careful! Love you!”

“I’m fine. Love you too,” he typed out slowly, his hands still a bit shaky from his conversation with Basil. He let out the breath he hadn’t realized he was holding, and stood to grab his own pajamas from the backpack he had packed. 

Basil came back into the room moments later, his eyes still puffy but looking much less anxious. He wordlessly motioned for Sunny to go wash up, and Sunny smiled comfortingly back at Basil. 

When Sunny returned from the bathroom, he noticed Basil stood at a small mirror on the wall. He was rubbing moisturizer along his irritated skin, and laughed embarrassingly when he saw Sunny watching him from the bed. When the two went to bed half an hour later, Sunny was relaxed into sleep by the faintly fresh smell of Basil’s lotion and the Gardenias that had bloomed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed this chapter :) As always, kudos and comments are greatly appreciated!
> 
> As always, thank you so much to @towardthesun (@sunnysviolin on tumblr) for beta reading! Check out their stuff!!

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you enjoyed it! Kudos and comments are greatly appreciated :)
> 
> If you like my writing, considering checking out my OMORI tumblr @omorimewo ! I post more headcanons and fics there!


End file.
